Outsourcing health administration not working in B.C.

VANCOUVER – The B.C. government’s decision to outsource administration of the Medical Services Plan and PharmaCare to a U.S.-based company has failed to bring the expected benefits, the auditor general says.

John Doyle said in a report issued Thursday that the provincial government has not held Maximus BC Health fully accountable since the 10-year contract was signed in 2004, the first time in Canada that a significant portion of health administration services was transferred to the private sector.

At the time, the government came under fire for handing control over sensitive information to the subsidiary of an American firm as